Hasegawa 1/32 Spitfire Mk.Vb
By Loic Bridot
Hello all,
Here are a few words and pics about this 1/32nd scale Spitfire MK Vb I did build back in 2001.
The base is the Hasegawa Mk V kit that was reworked and detailed: rescribing, open gun bays, cockpit, etc... (and all brush painted) The pilot was done from a German DAK gunner, if I recall correctly and the dog was scratch built from putty.
The A/C is supposed to be BP955 from 601 Sqn based in Malta (Luqa A/F). This Spitfire took part in Operation Calendar on the 20th of April 1942 (delivery from USS Wasp). This A/C was flown by F/Lt Denis Barnham the very next day when he claimed a downed Ju 88 plus a damaged Bf 109 before crash landing. The A/C has been repaired / fixed and went back to fight until it was definitely lost / shot down on October 1942 when flown by Sgt Ron Miller.
There are several inaccuracies with the build. The most noticeable is certainly that BP955 is supposed to be a MK Vc with 4x20mm guns, not a MK Vb.
Also, the dog is either a real fat and lazy Labrador retriever (it happens sometimes, I have one at home!) or oversized.
The pilot is supposed to hold a cup of tea but I realised while resizing the pics that it is missing.
The serial is missing.
And there are many more...
I shot the pics with different kind of lights in the aim to simulate different effects (dawn, day light, etc...) and I am not too sure it was such a good idea.
I hope you will like it anyway.
© Loic Bridot 2011
This article was published on Saturday, November 19 2011; Last modified on Saturday, May 14 2016